Zappos Blogs: Zappos customer service

Did you know that you can tweet Zappos Customer Service anytime, any day of the week and they’ll respond in minutes? If you not, let me introduce you to “@Zappos_Service” -- your exclusive resource for getting questions answered…right now.

When it comes to providing exceptional customer service, Zappos has long been recognized as an innovator (CEO Tony Hsieh literally wrote a book on the topic).

So, it makes sense that they lead the pack when it comes to serving customers on social media. They respond literally 100 percent of the time when customers send them questions on Twitter, far superior to the 14 percent response rate my company reported in a recent social customer service study. Zappos doesn’t just respond either. They start conversations and they scour the Twitterverse for opportunities to surprise and delight Zappos customers in need.

For example, this customer that was having trouble finding a pair of sneakers he liked. Luckily, the @Zappos_Service team was there to the rescue.

Recently, I had a chance to catch up with @Zappos_Service crew to find out exactly how they provide exceptional customer service in the social media context. Here’s what they had to say:

Does the @Zappos_Service team literally respond 24/7?

ZS: Just like our contact center, we are manning the @Zappos_Service twitter account 24/7. Our graveyard team takes care of responses in the wee hours of the morning. So we’re here to help, whether it’s a 3 a.m. fashion emergency, or a lunchtime shopping break.

Do you respond to questions that mention Zappos, regardless of whether they use the full @Zappos_Service handle?

ZS: We respond to anyone that mentions Zappos (and a few misspelled variations just in case, as well), as long as their account is public so that we can see the tweet. It can be a question about an order, a comment on an item they found on the site, a news article with our name mentioned, or even if they are just bored and want to have conversation!

What other tactics do you use to keep the experience awesome for your Twitter-azzi?

ZS: We try to showcase our team’s personalities, so we encourage back and forth between them and our Twitter friends about anything at all. Creating Fun & a Little Weirdness is Core Value #3, and we get a lot of opportunity to do this on Twitter. The team normally introduces themselves at the start of their block of time working Twitter, and will try to engage folks somehow. This could be anything from asking who’s excited about football starting to asking opinions on the greatest Prince song of all time.

Give @Zappos_Service a ring--they’re here to help day or night, rain or shine!

Say hello to one of our resident Zapponians from the ZCLT Team, Emily K. who’s been rocking out with Zappos since October 2012! She loves chatting with customers and is known around Zappos as being a fashion diva with one of the best laughs.

If you call our customer service number during the wee hours of the night, you just might get Emily on the other line!

We asked Emily a couple of questions to get to know her better:

What is your favorite part about working at Zappos?

E: I feel like I'm a part of something special. I think the work we do, the environment we have created and the people on our team are truly special. Sometimes I look around and think I'm so lucky to be a part of this experience. I'm proud of what we do!

What is your favorite core value and why?

E:"Build a Positive Team and Family Sprit". It makes any journey more fun! No matter the task, having people who want to work as a team and value positivity makes what we do great.

I see that you played soccer when you were younger, do you have a favorite professional soccer player?

E: I do not and where did you get that fact? That was so so long ago, hehehe!

What is your idea of fun? If given a chance to skip work for a day, how would you spend the entire day?

E: With friends and family laughing. Making memories, relaxing, EATING.

What kind of job did you do before coming to Zappos?

E: Retail. I was a sales associate for a high-end brand.

If you had a plane ticket to go anywhere in the world where would you go?

E: Bora Bora. It's one of the many places on my list that I'm just not sure I will ever afford.

Today's Zapponian Spotlight, Beth M., is a ZCLT rep on the graveyard team. So, if you happen to call our customer service lines at night, you just might get Beth helping you on the other line!

We decided to get to know Beth a little bit by asking her a couple of questions:

What brought you to Las Vegas?

B: I was living in Portland, OR and had just lost a job of 8 years. I came here to visit my mom at Thanksgiving, shortly after my Dad had passed away. By the time I left, I decided that there was nothing holding me in Portland, and job opportunities were probably better in Vegas. Plus, I was a little worried about my mom being alone, and I wanted to live closer to her. I moved here in January of 2009, and got hit with the lucky stick by Zappos in August. Surprisingly, I love it here. I grew up in So Cal, and came here a lot on weekends, but never imagined I'd live here!

What is your favorite musician or band?

B:I love classic rock, like Santana, the Stones and Eric Clapton. I also love Kid Rock!

What 3 words describe your personality?

B:Silly, off-the-wall, and happy.

What do you like to do for fun?

B: I'm a home body a lot of the time! I like hanging out with friends, going out to eat, gambling. I love to garden, too, but all I have is gravel now so everything is in pots.

Working the Graveyard shift means I sleep most of the day, and I'm working when most people are out having fun, like on the weekends.

I really look forward to Zappos events like the awesome picnic we just had because I get a chance to reconnect with my Zappos Family!

B: Actually, not too much embarrasses me. However, I went to a Harvest Festival in Oregon with a friend who was visiting from L.A. There was one of those sling-shot things where you launched a pumpkin and there was a target to hit wayyyy off in the distance. I was pulling it back really hard for a good launch, when my friend thought it would be a good idea to pull ME back (to help). The minute she pulled me, my feet slipped and I was flat on my back in a pool of mud. When I finally got up, there was a line of people who watched it happen. I was horrified! I had to finish the day walking around with the entire backside of me covered in mud!

Our very own Tony Hsieh was recently featured on the "Pivot" series on A TOTAL DISRUPTION, two-time Sundance-winning director Ondi Timoner's YouTube channel that provides business and tech insights from the innovators defining our future.

In this video, Tony discusses how Zappos' pivot to focus on customer service and company culture has paid off—for both customers AND employees.

Our number one core value here in the Zappos Family is “Deliver WOW through service”. Delivering excellent customer service is really at the core of everything we do. That’s why our long-standing tradition of Holiday Helpers is still going strong.

Every holiday season, when our call volumes reach their highest levels of the year, every Zappos employee from every department is asked to jump on the phones for a few hours to help out our ZCLT team.

So, if you call our customer service number during the holiday season, there’s a chance you could get our CEO Tony Hsieh on the line! We all look forward to helping your holiday shopping experience be the best one yet.

Building strong working relationships among team members starts with a fun and dynamic work environment. When people are encouraged to be themselves and have fun at work, like they are at Zappos, the result is a stronger, more unified team.

Check out my book, The Zappos Experience, for an in-depth look at work-and-play integration within Zappos.